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Well maybe I am behind the times, but I just noticed recently that Tickemaster has purchased TicketsNow and has a direct link when no tickets are available through Ticketmaster??
So, how exactly is this legal?? If Ticketmaster charges weren’t enough already, TicketsNow is basically nothing more than online scalpers asking outrageous prices for tickets for a ‘sold out” show………….
Anyways, I guess this means the quantity of tickets available through Ticketmaster will slowly be less and less as they find their way over to TicketsNow instead………… what a crock.
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cochise Wrote:Well maybe I am behind the times, but I just noticed recently that Tickemaster has purchased TicketsNow and has a direct link when no tickets are available through Ticketmaster??
So, how exactly is this legal?? If Ticketmaster charges weren’t enough already, TicketsNow is basically nothing more than online scalpers asking outrageous prices for tickets for a ‘sold out” show………….
Anyways, I guess this means the quantity of tickets available through Ticketmaster will slowly be less and less as they find their way over to TicketsNow instead………… what a crock.
Yes,,, Total Horseshit :nooooo :nooooo
I still have no idea how they get away with this
cratch:
I will not give up. My face is set,my gait is fast,my goal is heaven,my road is narrow,my way is rough,my companions are few,my guide is reliable,my mission is clear. I cannot be bought,compromised,detoured,lured away,turned back,diluted or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice,hesitate in the presence of adversity,negotiate at the table of the enemy,ponder at the pool of popularity,or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I will not give up,shut up or slow down....Blessed Be!
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From Ticketsnow's FAQ:
Is it illegal to sell tickets for more than face value?
No. It does generally require a license and set of standards to follow. In Illinois, where TicketsNow is licensed, it also requires a $100,000 cash bond for consumer protection to be held either privately or through an association. We are licensed to sell in 98% of the markets and will notify you if we cannot. All transactions that we handle meet all state and local provisions.
Not sure how this applies to Canada though. In Ontario at least the Ticket Speculation Act makes it illegal to resell tickets for more than face value.
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I have the same beef: <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://hipbase.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13431">viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13431</a><!-- l -->
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It really is going to be a sad day for music fans in the US/Canada if this merger gets approved...
The only way to avoid all the horrendous "convenience" fees LN/TM are going to impose on tickets to cover their costs is to go to the venue box office, and how convenient is that? :nooooo :nooooo
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A Letter to Our Fans
From Bruce Springsteen
Today at 4:48pm
A Letter to Our Fans:
We know there was much confusion regarding Ticketmaster and TicketsNow during last Monday's on-sale dates. We were as confused as you were, as we were given no advance notice of the major changes in the Ticketmaster-TicketsNow world. (Bear in mind that we are not clients of any ticketing company, and that all those arrangements are between venues and ticketing companies.)
Last Monday, we were informed that Ticketmaster was redirecting your log-in requests for tickets at face value, to their secondary site TicketsNow, which specializes in up-selling tickets at above face value. They did this even when other seats remained available at face value. We condemn this practice.
We perceive this as a pure conflict of interest. Ticketmaster is there to ensure that we have a good, fair sale of our tickets at their face value plus normal ticketing charges. TicketsNow is supposed to be a secondary site where people who already have tickets may exchange, trade, and, unfortunately, speculate with them. We have asked this redirection from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow cease and desist immediately and Ticketmaster has agreed to do so in the future and has removed its unwanted material from their and our site.
We know the many cynical arguments some make in favor of the Ticketmaster system: There are rumors that some artists or managers participate in Ticketmaster charges--we do not. There are rumors that some artists or managers are receiving a percentage of the amount above face value at secondary outlets like TicketsNow--we do not. Some artists or managers may not perceive there to be a conflict between having the distributor of their tickets in effect "scalping" those same tickets through a secondary company like TicketsNow--we do.
While many of you have sent notes to us and your local promoters, you may also send accurate informational letters to Albert Lopez of Ticketmaster [Albert.Lopez@ticketmaster.com] and he will try to address your questions.
A final point for now: the one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near monopoly situation in music ticketing. Several newspapers are reporting on this story right now. If you, like us, oppose that idea, you should make it known to your representatives.
The abuse of our fans and our trust by Ticketmaster has made us as furious as it has made many of you. We will continue to do our utmost now and in the future to make sure that these practices are permanently curtailed on our tours.
Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team
2004-12-03 - Saint John/2005-09-03 - Moncton/2006-06-30 - Charlottetown/2006-11-09/10 - Montreal/2007-09-11 - Fredericton/2007-09-13 - Halifax/2007-09-14 - Sydney/2007-09-15 - Charlottetown/2008-06-30 - Charlottetown/2009-05-01/02 - Montreal/2011-06-28 - Moncton/2011-06-30 - Charlottetown/2012-06-30 - Niagara-on-the-Lake/2013-02-01 - Moncton/2013-02-02 - Halifax/2015-01-10 - Toronto/2015-02-20 - Montreal/2015-07-17 - Ottawa/2016-08-18 - Ottawa/2016-08-20 - Kingston
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Yeah Bruce!!!
It makes me ill that Ticketbastard is going to screw us even more! :censored
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<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2009/02/09/8329001-cp.html">http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2009/02/09/8329001-cp.html</a><!-- m -->
Ticketmaster faces $500M lawsuit
By Keith Leslie, THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO - Ticketmaster is diverting tickets to its online resale site TicketsNow as part of a "disgraceful" conspiracy to force customers to pay the highest possible price for sporting and entertainment events, a class-action lawsuit launched Monday alleges.
The resale practice violates anti-scalping provisions laid out in Ontario's Ticket Speculation Act, the statement of action filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice contends.
The defendants "wrongfully, unlawfully (and) maliciously conspired" to sell tickets at a higher price, states the suit, which seeks $500 million in damages for the conspiracy and $10 million for punitive damages.
"Ticketmaster and Ticketmaster Canada divert consumer traffic from their websites to the TicketsNow website," the court documents read.
"This practice is designed to ensure the sale of tickets at the highest price possible price, and, in all cases, at a price substantially higher than the price at which the tickets were first issued."
The allegations have not been proven in court and Ticketmaster has not yet filed a statement of defence.
The Vancouver and Toronto-based law firms that launched the suit said people allegedly overcharged when they bought tickets from Ticketmaster or TicketsNow.com after February 2007 will be represented.
The suit was filed on behalf of Henryk Krajewski of Toronto, who in September 2008 purchased two tickets for a Smashing Pumpkins show at Massey Hall from TicketsNow for $533.65, the court documents state. The tickets would have cost about $130 if they had been available from Ticketmaster.
"Henryk pleads that the conduct of the defendants was high-handed, outrageous, reckless, wanton, entirely without care, deliberate, callous, disgraceful, wilful and motivated by economic considerations," reads the statement.
A Ticketmaster representative wasn't available Monday to respond to the suit.
In a recent interview with The Canadian Press, a company official said they do not divert tickets to TicketsNow or give the resale site any preferential access or treatment.
The company claimed it's providing consumers with a resale service that they want, and one that guarantees that resale tickets are not counterfeit.
Last week, Bruce Springsteen said he was furious with Ticketmaster for redirecting his fans to TicketsNow, where tickets for his homecoming show at the New Jersey Meadowlands were being offered at hundreds of dollars above face value.
New Jersey's attorney general, Anne Milgram, said last week she had asked for more information about the company's sales practices after the state received more than 1,000 complaints. Milgram said redirecting ticket buyers to TicketsNow may violate the state's consumer fraud act.
Lawyer Jay Strosberg of Sutts, Strosberg LLP, one of the two firms behind the Ontario lawsuit, said there had been a lot of interest in the Ticketmaster-TicketsNow situation since Springsteen spoke out.
"Somebody has to address this type of conduct," said Strosberg.
"How the transaction happens, in the sense that the primary market actually also controls the secondary market, raises a lot of questions that deserve answers."
Ticketmaster purchased TicketsNow last year for US$265 million, and takes a slice of every ticket resold through TicketsNow in addition to the original services charges it levies when tickets are first sold.
"People in Ontario and elsewhere deserve access to entertainment at reasonable prices," said Strosberg.
"As far as we're concerned, this conduct may violate the Ticket Speculation Act."
Ticketmaster has said in response to prior complaints that the company's ticket-selling system is fair and doesn't violate the law.
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From the Globe's story on this lawsuit:
Ticketmaster appears to have been aware of the legal issues posed by TicketsNow, which it bought last year for $265-million. In its latest quarterly report, the company warns that "Canadian provinces ... prohibit the resale of tickets at prices greater than the original face price. The failure of our businesses to comply with these laws and regulations could result in fines and/or proceedings against us by governmental agencies and/or consumers. ..."
This is interesting when you compare it to "Ticketmaster has said in response to prior complaints that the company's ticket-selling system is fair and doesn't violate the law."
You say one thing to the public, and another in your quarterly report? Mr. Ticketmaster, do you take me for a brainless lizard?
